Catch a Glimpse
by thebluemartian
Summary: Rossi's birthday brings a new face into the life of the BAU team, and romance blooms between Reid and the intelligent,beautiful Christine. But can the group overlook the secrets and the danger her presence puts them all in? Reid/OC. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

**Catch a Glimpse**

A/N: This is my first time writing for this universe. I am actually borrowing my own OC from two of my Big Bang Theory fics after I considered how well she could blend with Reid. If she comes off a tiny bit Mary Sue, you will see why after a few chapters, she has _lots_ to hide of her true self and with good reason.

Also, I realize this chapter is highly Rossi in some parts but it's the best way I could come up with to introduce her. I tend to use all characters in a universe, but I will have plenty of Reid/OC moments as time goes on.

Please review, I love feedback!

I do not own Criminal Minds or any of the characters other than my OC, Christine.

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><p>"Are you sure we can't convince you to let us take you out for your birthday?" JJ asked as the group approached Rossi's front door in anticipation of his cooking his birthday dinner tonight. She didn't think it was fair on him, but she was secretly excited; Rossi had the best sense around the kitchen of anyone on the team.<p>

Reid followed suit with the rest of the team members in their efforts to bring Rossi out for the night. For several weeks it seemed something was off with the eldest member of the team. Ever since the case in northern Louisiana, and an odd and secret request to Reid, he simply hadn't been the same. "I do believe the idea of celebrating your birthday is for us to give to you, not_ you _cooking for _us_."

Rossi chuckled under his breath at his friends, opening the front door to his large home. He loves to cook, sharing a meal with them is exactly how he wants to spend his birthday... Just food, friends and no new cases. For the last several months he had been beating himself up, trying to figure out if he was going crazy or if he was right about—well, at least tonight he could just be himself, with his friends, in the place he's most comfortable- his kitchen. Besides, he saw that Garcia made a cake. That counts for a lot in his book, her chocolate ganache was legendary.

He ushered everyone into the dark living room before turning on the light and facing something he didn't expect to see. She wore the same warmhearted expression as when he last saw her, nearly five years ago. She was older, now twenty-eight if he remembered correctly. Secretly, he always held a small vigil on her birthday which is the day before his. He spent last night with several silent prayers for her while in his hotel room before the team wrapped up its most recent case.

"Hey Daddy." her naturally bright pink lips framed her slightly lopsided, mischievous smile to perfectly complement her blushed-pale skin.

Reid, resident genius of the BAU team noticed two things. One, the obvious question as to why the woman around his age was now being twirled about in Rossi's arms after calling him 'daddy' when they all knew he had no children. The second, this girl was incredibly beautiful. So beautiful in fact that commenting on the first fact, or speaking at all, was entirely lost on him.

What man couldn't resist those greenish-brown eyes, long dark lashes, bouncing espresso locks and perfectly feminine curves? He was stunned by her, and he didn't care whether or not everyone else noticed. Of course, being profilers they did.

Trying to save Reid from an embarrassing staring contest, Emily had to ask. "What do you mean 'daddy'?" Rossi being a dad was news to her.

Rossi turned to them with a smile as he wrapped a proud arm around the younger woman. He couldn't believe that she was here, he wanted to ask her what happened, where she had been all these years, but he didn't care, she was here and maybe she could stay- he forgot to answer the questions of the team, looking back to her, hope and astonishment both filling his features.

"You're surprised to see me aren't you?" she gave a knowing smile. Last time he saw her she was acting as a decoy to lure away an unsub from a potential victim. She was assumed to have been killed in the process.

"I always thought maybe, sometimes I would think you, I just never let myself hope until two months ago."

Hotch cleared his throat, aware that everyone was awkwardly waiting for the same explanation he desired.

Christine caught it and smiled at the group she so often secretly observed rally around her favorite man in the world. "I'm Christine." she offered before elbowing Rossi into action again.

Quickly, Rossi picked up. "Christine is my god daughter. Christine, this is Hotch, the unit chief," she began shaking hands with each of them. She already knew their names, and she was sure that her god father knew that and was protecting her many, many secrets. Of all the people in the world, he was the only person outside her immediate family who ever learned the secret. She entirely trusted him, much more so than her own father, but then, Uncle Dave wasn't responsible for what she had to become.

Penelope was an interesting character, she even shook her hand with flair and caring, a true reflection of her personality as had been observed in the reports. JJ and Emily were both exactly as she pegged them, friendly yet reserved. Derek was certainly handsome and charming but not her type. Mr. Tall dark and brooding Hotch was appealing in his own sense, but the tall skinny nerd looking at her with clear admiration really got her boat floating. So nervous, shy, taken with her visibly and tall and handsome! She had been curious about him for years. She knew he had some social obstacles to overcome far different from her own. She knew he had a mother in a psychiatric treatment facility and a former drug problem. She knew he was a genius but not his IQ, and she wondered if it could compare to her own.

Rossi noticed that shared gaze between the two, the one where a man just fell for a woman instantly and she is intrigued. Normally he would be protective, but he had the vague thought that if anyone could keep up with her of the entire group it would be Reid. She could have her pick, she could go after Morgan and snag him easily. She might even find an appealing challenge in breaking Hotch out of his shell. But she would unwittingly do a number on any of them. She never could really grasp how much power she had over men even when she wasn't trying to woo them to her will. That was part of her occupation and general appeal that she seemed to not fully understand. She had a power that could bring Reid to his knees, but he would try to not have to feel the need to protect him from the heartache Christine doled out as second nature.

"So, what suddenly brings you here?" he asked as everyone shuffled into the kitchen, pleased that Christine instantly reached for the extra apron intending to be set to work. He taught her everything he knew when it came to the kitchen when she was just a toddler learning at his feet.

"I came for your birthday of course, silly." she caught the curious looks everyone held across the island, and the examining gaze of a certain fellow genius. "And," she pulled out a news article clipping from her pocket "I got your message. When did you learn to code?"

"Actually, I wrote that at his request." Reid remembered the message Rossi asked him to place into the Friday obituary section of a local paper in Louisiana just before the end of the case. It asked Belle to come see the beast, whatever that was supposed to mean. "Did you have a key or something?" he wrote that to a near indecipherable level at Rossi's request. It took him two hours to make it work.

"Nope" Christine replied nonchalantly, not looking up from her chopping that came to consume most of her attention. "I just happened on it in the paper a couple months ago. Reading codes had been a childhood talent of mine since I was three and Uncle Dave taught me to read." That got everyone's attention.

Reid was fascinated, utterly intrigued by the strange, happy and impressive woman in front of him. "If I may ask, what is your IQ."

Rossi laughed a hard syllable to interrupt Morgan's look to Reid in an attempt to correct the genius man from his faux pas. "You two have to say your IQ's in unison."

"Why?" they asked, in unison.

"Indulge a man on his birthday." He gently pleaded, knowing this would give him a good deal of fun to see the reaction this gets.

They looked at one another, shrugged, and gave a silent count down. "187" they each replied, to the amazement of one another and to the rest of the group.

Reid was shaken from his newest staring contest with the equally stunned Christine by Emily's rhetorical question. "What are the odds of meeting someone with that exact same IQ?"

Both, in unison yet again replied. "1 in 400,208."

'_Holy crap.' _It was all anyone could think, including Christine.

Rossi was definitely loving this birthday more and more. Her being here made everything perfect but her tendency to have great shock value when she was safe enough to almost be herself… well it was entertaining to see her ability to surprise the team that has seen everything.

"Reid, why don't you get the champagne you forgot out of my car." Hotch suggested with his wise tone, effectively breaking the younger man from his revelry on meeting a true equal.

Reid set out, a little dazed and returned just in time to hear Christine's next statement to her god father as they finished cooking off the first course. "So, I have a sort of present for you in the morning if I can come by the office."

"You mean you being here wasn't it?" And, he reminded himself, he owed her a present for her birthday yesterday.

"Well, what I have tomorrow, and the wine I brought back from the old village."

Rossi's eyes lit up. "Do you have it now?"

"Six bottles. I already put them in your cellar." She didn't even have to ask, she just went down to fetch three of the bottles, knowing their profile perfectly matched their entrée for the evening.

While she was down there Reid asked Rossi. "What village would that be?"

"Oh, our families both date back to a small village on the southernmost tip of Calabria. The wine comes from this small vineyard at the edge of the village's grounds. That she could get six bottles, it's incredible. The vintage is so rare you have to actually convince the owner in person to let you buy a bottle. But then, she always was good at convincing people to do anything. She's a trained profiler as well as many, many other things."

"Oh come on now," Christine prayed as she set the bottles down and began searching for the corkscrew. "You know I hate it when you do that." She really did, she certainly preferred modesty to looking like a freak.

"What, praise you?" she nodded at him. "Now, I won't have any of that. Three doctorates is nothing to be ashamed of, and I won't hear you say otherwise." He was stern and kind, much like the father he sometimes acted as to her.

"Three?" Reid was liking this more and more. "In what, may I ask?"

"Psychology, chemistry and linguistics."

"And…" Rossi pressed. He had always been proud of the girl. True, she was forced into most of this as part of circumstance, but she fought her way through life.

She sighed, resigned. "And an MD. I was a trauma surgeon." She shot a look to Rossi that spoke 'happy now?'

"Incredible. When did you find the time? I only managed two before I was twenty."

"As did I. Chemistry and my MD came first. But I jumped out of those the day I passed my boards at nineteen. Uncle Dave had encouraged me to stay in school and keep working to something else while I was still a resident, as I had become unfulfilled with the work. So I studied psychology. Linguistics just sorta came to me, I was raised to travel all over the world so I spoke everything already.I got both at twenty three." She shrugged, anyone with her IQ could have easily done more as well, most just seemed to have more passsion and commitment to a path than her- with one secret exception.

Rossi was pleased with himself and with Christine. She was more open in the last half hour with his team than he had ever seen her with others before. Her whole life had been lived in a very large tangle of lies. He felt, well like he had her back.

They sat to dinner, the group regaling her on stories about her god father's work and little fun stories. Christine had some of her own to share as well, such as when Rossi's first wife was teaching her how to sew and Rossi insisted he could do better, took over the quilt and ended up sewing it to himself. She was five, but it was one of her favorite memories of all time.

There was true camaraderie, an easy acceptance of Christine into the group of coworkers that so long ago became more than friends, a family. JJ and Emily had adopted seats on either side of her, even if just to get a good look at Reid's reactions to her. Reid had gotten into a rather confusing conversation (to the rest of the group) with her about news of magnetic monopoles and Rossi was pleased to see that Christine reserved her usually luminous smile, (which once took down the Vice President in its charm) from Reid. It was relieving to see that while definite interest was there, she wasn't outright trying to break the boy's heart.

Rossi found himself engulfed in smiles as toasts with his favorite wine filled the house with sounds of clanking glasses. Everyone was boisterous, laughing, Morgan nearly in tears he laughed so hard. He was looking forward to however long he could have this sense of family, and was anxious to see what sort of surprise Christine had in mind for tomorrow. She was always great at bringing it to a whole new level, good or bad.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Usually I take a little more time for fluff at the beginning of a fic but decided I wanted to jump right into a little meat. Please review.

I do not own Criminal Minds.

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><p>"You alright there kid?" Morgan leaned against Reid's desk, having just come in for the morning. Hotch was in his office, of course and Reid was sitting back in his chair staring off into space.<p>

"Huh. Yeah." He hurriedly tried to make himself appear normal and at work when he heard familiar female laughs from the far entrance of the bullpen.

"Kid, don't worry about it. Just play it cool." It wasn't the first time he had to give Spencer advice on women; of course Christine was an entirely different type of woman from Lila. One thing is for sure though, when Reid falls, he falls fast and hard. "Play it cool brother, you don't want Rossi to get all papa bear on you." He warned before hurriedly moving off to his desk, aware that the very same just walked in with Christine by his side.

Several thoughts kept Reid awake last night. First, he wondered how it is that Rossi kept her a secret from them all this time. She seemed like such a large part of his life last night, almost like a child of his own. It didn't make sense that he would keep her locked away from everyone. And then, why did he seem so stunned to see her? Rossi had said it had been years since he last saw her. Did she get mixed up in something? Maybe drugs or a cult? But Rossi wouldn't let anyone he loved that much just slip into some subculture without constantly trying to get them back. He would have called in favors from Garcia and the rest of the team to track her down.

And that there, the favor of writing the code. How did Rossi know that she would be reading that particular paper, on that day and be actually able to work the code. And that she could so easily, astounded him. She was so smart, and beautiful and charming but openly admitted that she hadn't shared a meal with anyone in over a year. She was more lonely than he was, and that just didn't make sense. Even Hotch, ever the stoic in his expressions seemed to have taken to her easily, even occasionally returning a flirty wink over dinner, much to Reid's displeasure.

There's something he just couldn't figure out about her. She's more worldly than himself, not confused by the jokes of his friends the way he was at points last night. But she seemed to keep her distance emotionally from everyone except Rossi. Sure, she hugged everyone goodbye last night and the kiss she left on his cheek still made him blush to think of. But her outward personality was lacking… something more genuine.

He's been staring at her for the last several minutes, hasn't he? '_Oh God, give me a distraction, she caught me!'_

He got what he needed as the last of the team filtered in to the office for the day.

"I need everyone in the conference room, we have a case." Hotch called with an odd sense of urgency, even for him.

Rossi stopped Christine just short of the conference room door as everyone filtered in beside them. "You can wait in my office brownie."

"Actually, I need her in here too." Hotch informed him while keeping a stern gaze on Christine. She knew he wouldn't like this, but it had to be done.

Reid watched in genuine curiosity as Christine took a seat next to Hotch, a little jealous that she didn't pick the open chair next to him. Even more odd than usual, the conference room was not prepped, there were no files and Hotch locked the door behind them before taking his seat next to Christine.

"We have been given a direct order, from the top, to take Christine on as a special consultant on a new case. This has been given top priority and will require each of you to adhere to several security protocols unlike what we are used to. Apparently, however, Christine is well versed." He was bordering on indignant but he truly did not like receiving surprising orders from the director for a class of mission far out of their usual jurisdiction. In fact, they could hardly lay claim to operating as FBI in most of the situations he imagined when he heard what agencies Christine tended to represent.

"So you are a consultant?" Reid hadn't gotten a straight answer from her yet on what she could possibly do with her degrees.

"In a sense." She sidestepped. "I apologize for not being more straightforward last night, but I needed to be sure I could trust you all to the same degree as Uncle Dave trusts you. You must all understand that this is of the highest secrecy. The things you may learn on this case will permanently alter your world view." She swept a glance around. Rossi was of course entirely aware of her particular talents and situation and he got it, this was important. He would tell her if anyone would have a real problem. She was only really sure about Emily Prentiss for this mission. She is perhaps most prepared for what is in store. "If any of you feel incapable of never sharing the information you shall gather, even discussing it among yourselves at a later date I must ask you to withdraw right now and take a temporary reassignment on a different team. What we will be working is not domestic, nor is it a simple FBI case. This has political implications which stretch beyond what can be commonly known."

"Can we know what it is we are agreeing to do first?" Morgan asked, a little weary of how Emily suddenly seemed to have picked up interest.

"I may give you only few details at this point. I have a case to rehash that has been stagnant for fifteen years. Uncle Dave, I think it's the same as then." He had thought as much, and it made sense why she would have waited two months from getting his message to show up. That had perplexed him last night. She must have been right in the middle of information gathering and unable to leave until then.

"Same as what?" Reid asked in concern as he watched David's face grow pale.

"May I?" he asked permission from his God daughter. This was beyond personal or professional, this information was a lifetime of heartache for her.

She nodded. "You may share any knowledge you have on the case thus far. All other details will be strictly need to know, as determined by myself."

Reid wondered just how much clearance she really had to be able to control information on that scale. And more importantly, why wasn't she taking this somewhere else? Why profilers out of their element? Not that he wasn't excited at the prospect of sharing a case and time with her.

Rossi sighed. That was a lot of trust she was laying on him. He knew so much more about this international scheme than he really should. And it had been entirely by accident that he even met her father, the reason for her situation. "Twenty six years ago there were a series of brutal killings across the south of France which differed greatly in MO and visible victimology with one exception."

"And that exception?" JJ did not like where this was going.

"They were all covert operatives."

"You mean spies." Emily informed him.

"Yes," Christine cut in. "and as such you can understand the delicate nature of the work. I have been tracking that case on my own for years, for my own reasons. I believe it has started yet again."

"And you know of all this how?" Morgan asked, thankfully to Rossi and not Christine. He felt a little betrayed by all the secrets Rossi had been hiding from the team.

"I was pulled in on the case while traveling. An operative recognized me and asked for assistance." He kept his gaze on Christine, unsure if he should elaborate further. She was never open about life, and she hardly ever allowed even him to speak of the further details in her presence, never mind air her dirty laundry to the world. So, he hoped that would be the end of that line of questioning and everyone would just agree to take the case.

But Reid's curiosity could never be silenced. "Was this operative a target?"

Christine shared a long look with Rossi which put everyone on edge. Hotch had been made aware that only he and Rossi would be automatically granted access to the midlevel material which Christine deemed pertinent to the case. However, Rossi's prior familiarity with the situation might prove fruitful in gathering more information, as was his relationship to Christine. Of what he knew, Christine's security clearance was higher than the directors, and so possibly even higher than the President's, something civilians would never dream possible.

Rossi continued his stare with her until she finally resigned in a single nod. "His wife was a target, tortured and murdered brutally beyond the typical for this type of work."

"Alright." Garcia finally decided she needed answers herself. "But why was this such an important case for you to follow on your own, Christine?"

Yet again, Christine found herself unhappy that she was forced to share anything about herself. This was not natural to her. She has been born into this life and never had the opportunity to have real friends or colleagues she could trust. But she trusted Rossi, and he trusted his team or he would not have let her get this far with them.

With a large sigh, she responded. "The operative's wife, the third victim, was my mother."

She could read their expressions. She could see the big thought running through Reid's head right now was probably limited to a simple _'Yikes.'_ She thought for sure that would probably be the end of his infatuation with her which made her oddly sad. That in itself perplexed her, she was never the type to form an attachment. She's had loads of boyfriends, all part of a cover and therefore she hadn't even advanced to sex. That was just too far to go for a cover, in her opinion. And love? Yeah, that was beyond her emotional abilities at this point.

She tried not to sulk, or allow them to see the sadness and embarrassment on her face, so she trudged on. "I am too close to this. I have only gathered information so far but I can't build a profile on my own as I usually do. And Rossi is too close to this as well, we need a team. This isn't about vengeance, I want that clear. This is about finding how this person is tracking down and killing operatives. If still working, all of our agents are in jeopardy, as are you all potentially. If he or she can track a spy, they can get to you."

Each member of the team took some time to think on this as they sat in silence. Hotch was in, he had to remain a leader to his team. Plus, he felt a sort of need to keep Christine safe. While he knew Reid would most likely be her real interest, he did enjoy her flirting. Rossi was in, for obvious reasons and Emily had decided it would be hard for her but she knew she was most equipped to guide everyone through the emotional implications of this type of work. That left JJ, who informed the team that she would remain at Quantico and work on the backlog of paperwork and offer support from there as needed. And Morgan, who was on board for the simple desire to understand more about the case. Doing a profile of this sort would definitely prove a challenge. Reid, well he was more hesitant than he would have expected. Suddenly, he wanted to simply run off from the room and take a long deep breath. He was overwhelmed with the conclusions about the mysteries of Christine that he had come up with and he wasn't sure if he was willing to get closer to her just yet, but his heart won him over. She was too rare of a person to run from. That left Penelope, who voiced concern over going into the field like this.

Christine decided to sweeten the deal for her, Garcia was necessary to the mission. "If you do this, I will grant you perpetual access to the NSA's mainframe."

"Wait, you can do that?" That's totally a hacker's dream playing ground.

"I can give you whatever tools necessary, to any of you, for a successful completion to this case. The law is an outlier here, no prosecutions to worry about. No chain of evidence. Simple, impossible, complicated plots that need to be solved and I need the best to do it."

"Does Strauss know about this?" Reid wondered, it didn't seem particularly in line with something she would sign off on.

"She knows she has no choice in the matter. A terrific bureaucrat , but a middleman nonetheless."

Reluctantly, everyone agreed. It was their job to protect their country and part of that meant they had to serve in ways which made them uncomfortable, just like the Doyle situation. They each went to grab their go bags but Reid pulled Christine aside on her way to Rossi's office.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, cautiously. He was a little frightened of her, but he realized it had nothing to do with the case. Actually, it was how she made him like her even more with her flawed past.

"Sure." _'Please don't be sweet and get my hopes up.'_ She mentally pleaded.

He awkwardly reached to brush her arm at an attempt to be comforting. "I am sorry about your mother. I have my own maternal issues."

"I know." She admitted.

"Then, maybe we should sit down sometime and talk it over." He licked his lips, aware that Rossi was watching through the open door of his office down the hall. "Maybe over dinner when we get to wherever we are going?"

Jesus Christ she was terrified, she didn't want to hurt him or be hurt herself. But maybe she needed to take a chance. Rossi had warned her last night to be gentle on Reid but still follow her heart. According to him she needs to let the passion of her Italian ancestry take over more. "I would like that. Thank you." She replied, shyly. When did she ever get so shy?

She had to will herself to not look back as she felt his gaze linger on her as she walked to her godfather's office. The prospect of letting lose for once, of connecting to someone, it made her feel oddly light in her step even as it terrified her. Reid was so different from anyone else she knew. Most men would go running for the hills if they heard all she just spoke of. This is especially true of someone who had certainly figured out her true occupation, as she was sure that Reid had done back in the conference room. He was a genius, just as herself. He would have picked up on it and yet he still looked at her with fascination. For the first time in what seemed like years she looked forward to an upcoming mission.


End file.
